The invention relates to a coupler for a model railroad car and more particularly to a drawbar for such a coupler.
Scale models of railroad equipment have been built almost since the inception of railroads themselves. The attraction is not only the satisfaction derived from the construction of the model, but also from seeing the models actually move in a miniature replication of the real world.
Couplers for use on scale model railroad equipment (the parts that hold the individual cars together into a train) should meet three main criteria. They must (1) couple together automatically when pushed together, (2) have the ability to be uncoupled in some fashion, and (3) be cost effective to manufacture. In addition to this, it is desirable that they look as much like scale size replicas of the couplers on real, full-size railroad equipment as is practical.
Various attempts have been made over the years to devise a coupler that would allow automatic "hands off" operation. The oldest of these designs, still in wide spread use, is the so-called horn-hook design. In the horn-hook design, a hook shaped coupler is spring loaded so that when pushed into a similar hook on an adjacent model the hooks automatically cam aside, then slip into engagement, and there held by spring tension. Uncoupling is effected by inserting an uncoupling appliance into the track at a desired location. The uncoupling appliance engages pins built into the underside of the hooks when the models are run to that location for uncoupling.
In their current form, these horn-hook couplers are typically one piece plastic moldings with the spring molded integrally, and so are quite cost effective to manufacture. They do not, however, look much like the real object they are intended to represent. Furthermore, uncoupling can take place only at sites where an uncoupling appliance has been previously installed; the shape of the hooks preclude even the possibility of lifting the end of one model over the end of the other.
In an attempt to overcome these shortcomings, several designs of working knuckle automatic model couplers have been patented throughout the years. All have used the principle of a magnet installed in the track to effect uncoupling. Each design consists of several separate parts and springs which are assembled around a ferro-magnetic pin in such a way that the flux of the magnetic field of the magnet installed in the track opens the knuckle, thus causing uncoupling to occur. This system again requires preselected locations where uncoupling is to occur. Because of the multiple small parts and the assembly required, the manufacturing costs of these designs is many times more than the horn-hook coupler.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a car coupler for model railroad cars which is simple in construction and easy to use.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a car coupler which, after being coupled, may be placed in an uncoupling state at any location along the track through the use of a portable uncoupling tool.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a car coupler that is inexpensive to manufacture.